


Hayffie & Clichés

by rvsirene



Series: Hayffie Summer Week [4]
Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: F/M, Hayffie Summer Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-08
Updated: 2019-08-08
Packaged: 2020-08-12 23:56:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20164744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rvsirene/pseuds/rvsirene
Summary: For Hayffie Summer Week.Day 4: The Cliché Trope Cove!





	Hayffie & Clichés

**Author's Note:**

> For Hayffie Summer Week.  
Day 4: The Cliché Trope Cove!

#### Fake Dating 

  


"Smile," Effie hissed through clenched teeth. "Haymitch, _smile._”

  
"I am smiling," he grumbled, pulling on the tie she had forced around his neck.

  
"Well make it look less painful!" She complained. "You're supposed to be completely and utterly in love with me..."

  
"Maybe if you'd stop whining, I could act better," he replied. Her hands batted his away from the tie and she cleaned it up. "I don't like the tie."

  
"It goes with my dress," she snapped, as if that mattered. "Do not behave like a child."

  
"I'm not being a child," he protested. "I don't wanna do this."

Effie sighed, clearly irritated.

  
"Fine, I shall do it on my own then," she shuffled away from him on the seat, staring out the window at the scenery. She couldn't see much, the windows were tinted and the car was fast. Everything was more or less a blur.

  
"Yeah?" He said seemingly to himself. "What are you gonna do? Fake date yourself?"

  
"I will think of something." Effie didn't like him underestimating her. She _could_ cause a scene if she had to. She didn't need him to make headlines...

  
"That's ominous," he commented. He slid across the seat, bringing them closer again. "If you're nice, I'll help you out princess."

  
"You're striking a deal with me?" She scoffed. "Truly, how gracious of you. I do not want to do this anymore than you do."

  
"Then _why_ are we doing it?" He grumbled unnecessarily.

  
"For our children," Effie reminded him, her voice full of pride. "_All _of them."

  
"You're going to be the most annoying grandma." Effie ignored how old the word _grandma _made her feel.

  
"I won't be if we let them down and Katniss bans me from seeing her," she confesses a little worried...

  
"Come on princess, the girl is cold but she's not _that _bad." He knocked shoulders with her. "She does love you, you know?"

  
"I am not so convinced," she sighed. "At least Peeta is a darling."

  
"That's because you understand him," Haymitch chuckled fondly. "Katniss is like me, and you've never been good at understanding how I feel." It was a little bitter and Effie felt a stab of guilt in her gut. He was clearly referring to the way she had treated him after the war, when he had claimed to be in love with her - _without using the words_. Then asked her to move with him -_ to Twelve_.

She picked at her dress, unhappy with the reminder of what they once had.  
Effie knew she wasn't totally over him. A part of her would _always _love him. She knew that. But the reminder that it was _her _who broke his heart was unwelcome. Mostly because _she _had been the one to confess her feelings first. And he had left her.

"Don't pick at the sequins." Haymitch gently covered her hand and pulled it away from her dress. He hesitated and then intertwined them. "I didn't mean it like that, Princess." _Yes he had. _

  
"I know," she lied, squeezing his hand in hers. The sudden quick flashes drew her head to the window. "Oh look! We're here!"

Haymitch sat up straighter, clearly getting into the act. And Effie let go of his hand, fixing her dress so she could get out without worry...

The blinding flashes of the cameras only increased when Haymitch stepped out behind her. He didn't pay them any mind, looking only at her...

The pure _adoration_ in his eyes stole her breath away.  
He held out his hand, offering it to her.  
She couldn't look away...

"You gonna leave me hanging sweetheart?" He said with the same cheeky smirk that he used to have...

  
"Oh!" Effie gasped, finally getting a hold of herself. "Of course!"

She put her hand in his, grounded by how warm and strong his grip was. Her mind went back for a moment, remembering all the times she'd appreciated his hands... when they'd rest on her lower back to guide her out of a room, or rubbed the tension out of her shoulders, the way they felt on her breasts, between her legs...

_This is for the children, _she repeated in her head. _For the children..._

He was already leading her to the nearest reporter. A woman straining her hand out holding the microphone...

  
"Effie! Haymitch! It's wonderful to see you two together again... Have you got any confirmation on the news that Katniss Everdeen is pregnant?" Effie shook her head, never departing.

"Unfortunately, we do not," she lied. "But..." She turned to Haymitch and trailed off... He was looking at her intently, as if he was completely invested in what she had to say. As if he _cared._

  
"But?" The reporter said eagerly. Effie could see in the corner of her eyes that the woman was looking between the two of them with growing interest...

She didn't see it coming.

He crushed her into him, meeting her lips with his own eagerly...  
"Oh!" She managed to gasp before she was kissing him back. She hadn't meant to, it had just felt natural.

  
His tongue poked at her bottom lip, asking for entrance and without thinking, she let him. Her hands found his hair... She closed her eyes to avoid all the flashes of the cameras, losing control _fast. _

He grinned slightly against her lips, and before she could ask what he was planning, he _dipped _her.

  
His mouth swallowed her small shriek at the sudden movement. Her hands slid to his neck to _hold on. _But it didn't matter anyway, his own hands were holding her up firmly, making sure she didn't fall...

_How had she survived without this? _  
She pulled away suddenly at the thought, her foot lost balance and she would've fallen if he hadn't have had her in such a strong grip...

He pecked her lips. Ending the _far too public _kiss with a series of small kisses...  
Then he pulled her up, Effie could feel her eyes widen, her mouth open in shock as she tried to recover her act. Tried to...

"I think that said most of it," Haymitch shrugged with a smirk. "Come on princess, I think we've said our piece."

  
Effie couldn't reply, too shocked from the display he had just made... He lead her by her shoulders inside the venue, ignoring all the other reporters and photographers screaming desperately to be allowed an interview, to be the first to report on...

The door closed and Effie snapped out of her daze.

  
"What in _Panem_ was that?" She hissed, very aware of the large crowd just outside that door.

  
"That, was the perfect distraction from Katniss' pregnancy rumour," he replied smugly.  
Effie just stared, dumbfounded.

_Fake dating Haymitch Abernathy was not what she had expected..._

#### Arranged marriage

  
Effie placed her head in her hands, mentally cursing her choice of friends.

  
_How had she even managed to become Mirabelle's bridesmaid? _  
_And why did her husband to be have to run away? _

She steeled herself for a boring night. Perhaps she could go to the dance floor and have a little dance. But she honestly just wanted to go home and have a glass of wine. Put on a mind numbing reality show and deal with her friends drama tomorrow.

"You look like you could use a drink." Effie startled when a man sat down next to her.  
She looked up. He was fairly handsome. A little scruffy perhaps, _who didn't shave before they came to a wedding? _

  
He didn't look like the kind of man Mirabelle's fiancé, or rather ex-fiancé would associate himself with. But then again, Effie didn't even know Mirabelle well, let alone who she was going to marry...

Effie hesitated for a moment.

She didn't mind men buying her drinks on nights out. But the wedding was positively spoiled by the runaway groom. And the atmosphere didn't feel the same. Mirabelle's father had insisted that the guests not waste the party. After all, the place had been booked for hours.

The bride was no where to be seen, Effie had caught glimpse of her in the hallway, crying out about how her big day had been ruined. And now embarrassed she was. But then the wedding was quickly cancelled and everybody had come here to party...

Still, Effie could use a drink after the hell today had been.

  
"Sure," she nodded.

  
The man held up his hand to the bartender, calling him over...  
"I'll have a whiskey," he said before looking back at Effie. "And you, Princess?"

  
"White wine, please." She held out her hand. "My name is Effie."

  
"Haymitch," he smirked, shaking her hand before reaching for his drink. "What are you doing sitting alone at the bar?"

  
"Wondering why I was invited here in the first place," she replied dryly. "What about you?"  
"Just making use of an open bar."

  
"Are you a friend of the bride and groom?" Effie asked.  
"Nah, heard there was a runaway groom and a party with an open bar," he shrugged. "Here I am."

Effie should've been shocked, but she found herself laughing.  
"That is awful!" She said, breathless.

  
"I take it you're not a big fan of the couple, huh sweetheart?" He commented, smirking openly at her amusement.

  
"Effie," she corrected. "I did not know them well," she said. "Just that their parents set them up and that was it."

  
"Ah," he remarked with understanding. "An arranged marriage... How bad is the bride to make the groom run away?"

  
Effie paused, unsure if it would be polite to talk badly of her friend. Haymitch seemed to understand because he shook his head.

  
"You don't have to answer, just surprised that's all." He took another sip of his drink and Effie watched him curiously.

It seemed her night was about to get more interesting...

#### Soul Mate/Fate

  
"Come along," Effie's mother said, ushering her into another shop. "I see they've updated their stocks for autumn...”

Effie glanced down at her watch.

  
It was a common habit for her. She had yet to meet her soulmate and she always checked to see how they were doing. Whoever her soulmate was, they must have do a lot of reckless things because their time is _always_ fluctuating.

  
Effie's breath was stolen when she saw it only said _three hours._

-

"_Slow down_," his mother sighed from the passenger seat. "Haymitch!"

  
"There's still a long way to go," he excused. "Don't worry about it, there's nobody on the road at this time of night."

  
"Still," Heather protested from the backseat. "You don't want to lose control."

  
"Yeah yeah, sweetheart." He slowed down a little to placate them, but he still kept above the speed limit, desperate to get them all home before the storm came...

-

Effie didn't give it much thought before she told her mother. She wasn't sure what to do, _three hours._

  
_What was happening to her soulmate? _Had they been hurt? Were they in trouble?

  
Effie felt the instinctive pull she had heard people talk about. The urge to protect whoever was _hers. _The yearning to...

"Darling?" Her mother asked in confusion when Effie found her down an aisle. Effie felt a little relief, her mother would know what to do. Maybe they could find her soulmate, save them before it is too late...

  
"My watch," she rushed out. "Mother, my watch says _three hours._”She lifted her wrist, showing her soulmate clock briefly before she pulled it away to watch it herself. Waiting for the numbers to drop... For time to run out...

  
"Calm down," her mother ordered. "There is nothing you can do, darling. Whatever is going on, it is up to them to save themselves."

  
"But..." Her heart _ached. _There was no other word for the pain in her chest. She hadn't even _met _them, she would never know how long she has left. She would live in forever doubt...

Effie sniffled a little, careful to do so quietly. Her mother would kill her if she knew she was about to cry - in _public_ no less.

"Do not worry about it. Your father and I, we are not soulmates yet we are _fine_. It is not the end of the world."

It felt like the end of the world. Effie was only _eleven_. If she lost her soulmate now... Effie couldn't describe the pain she was feeling at that thought. Her mother and father, they still had time on their clocks... Effie had never seen someone her age_ lose_ their soulmate. What did it mean for her? Would she never love anybody? Would she never find anybody who loved _her?_

-

Haymitch cursed under his breath as he pulled into the fuel garage.

  
"You need to calm down," his mother sighed. "Let me drive, you are far too highly strung."  
"You'll be too slow, we'll get caught in the rain."

  
"Then so be it," she shrugged. "Come on, everyone else is asleep, don't think I don't know you're tired too."

He got out the car, determined to fill up the tank and get going quickly. Haymitch didn't feel like arguing. He was tired and irritated. He'd had a fight with Heather earlier and she was annoying him with her stubbornness. Her inability to be wrong.

Haymitch had been right to tell them to leave the cabin early. It started to rain just after they left and Haymitch knew that they hadn't gotten enough supplies to survive the storm. It didn't matter anyway, they were only there to stay for one more day so it didn't seem like that big of a deal.

She had argued that he was just in a mood. And that he was ruining it for everyone else. That they could go in the morning and he needed to stop being so controlling...

She was asleep now, he could see from the back window. Her hair had fallen in front of her face but he could tell she was out cold.

His mother got out of the passenger seat.

  
"Mama!" He hissed, irritated. "Let me drive."

  
"You're being a baby," she accused with fondness. "Fill up the tank and get in the other side. _I'm _driving.” He sighed but faced with her determined eyes, he knew he was going to lose.

  
"Fine," he grumbled.

  
"You go and sleep off that temper," she patted his shoulder before getting into the drivers seat.

-

Effie watched the clock intently. There was tension throughout her whole body, she felt like a coil. Ready to burst at any minute...

"Euphemia, elbows off the table," her mother commented. Effie pushed her arms down but didn't meet her eyes. "What would you like for lunch?"

  
"I'm not hungry," she replied, turning her wrist over under the table, watching the numbers go down steadily...

  
"Stop looking, you're only making it worse." Effie glanced up guiltily.

It wasn't until the food came that she got the chance to sneak a look at her timer again.

  
It said _fifty years._

-

Haymitch woke up from his nap to find them almost home.

  
"Maybe you were right," he said to his mother, stretching his arms out in front of him. "I think we're gonna beat the storm."

  
His mother flashed him a satisfied grin.

  
"Mother know best," she chuckled. Haymitch turned his head back to the road, his eyes suddenly drawn to the set of headlights serving left to right in front of them...

  
"Mama!" He warned.

It was too late.

-

Effie left the café with a smile on her face.

  
_Fifty years. _  
Whatever had happened, there was still hope for her.

"You're happier," Her mother commented as she got into the car.

  
"The timer went up!" She told her excitedly.

  
"See? I told you," her mother didn't say much more but it didn't matter.

Effie kept imagining what had happened, she couldn't wait until she had met them. They could tell them all about it.

-

Haymitch isn't sure who in the car had screamed.

  
His ears are ringing but he manages to wriggle his hand free. Undo the seatbelt. He manages to lift himself up... He cuts his palm on the broken window but he doesn't feel it. He watches the blood drip down onto the car with morbid fascination.

He checks his wrist. He's shaking, but he can just make out the numbers. _Sixty eight years_... He's not sure if Heather is his soulmate, but a part of him is relieved. A part of him likes to believe that she's survived... Then he doubles over because his stomach _hurts._

A glance down confirms that something has cut him there, he can't bring himself to look, so he holds a hand to his stomach and tries to crawl to the other side.

The other car is on fire.

He notices it when he manages to get to the front of the car. It's only slightly but it's flaming and Haymitch sucks in a pained breath.  
_The tank. _

He had filled up the tank with more fuel...

  
It gives him more incentive to drag himself to his mothers side. The silence now that he's ears have stopped ringing is terrifying. He hasn't heard _anything. _Not even a cry. Just his own harsh pants as he tries to see the drivers side.

The car is tilted and there's not much space between the windows and the ground. Haymitch cant see any movement but there's black dots clouding his vision.

  
"Mama!" He calls. "Heather!" He tries again.

He passes out before he can call for his brother.

#### Forced to share a bed.

Haymitch paced the small carriage, irritated.

  
"This is a _disaster_," Effie complained from his right. "We're going to be late."

  
"Quit your tantrum, I have a headache," Haymitch snapped. _He needed a drink._But the train had stopped moving and the maintenance had asked for them all to stay in the dining room carriage...

"Excuse me?" Effie hissed, clearly irritated...

  
Haymitch glanced at their tributes sat at the table, the girl was fiddling with her fingers and the boy was staring at his shoes.

  
"All your complaining has bored the kids, _look_," he accused. "So why don't you just _shut up?_”

  
"I think-" she started only to be interrupted by one of the maintenance men...

  
"We're gonna need everyone off of the train," he announced. "That way we can work overnight and be up and running by the morning."

"This is a disaster," Effie repeated, passing a hand over her face in theatrics. "Where will we sleep?"

  
"There's a small inn just past the train station, you will have to stay there for tonight." The man turned the leave and Effie let out an over dramatic sigh.

  
"Wonderful! Just wonderful!"

The walk to the inn was filled with Effie's complaints that her heels were not made to walk on the uneven grounds of District Seven... Haymitch simply grumbled under his breath here and there, he'd given up trying to shut her up long before they'd left the train.

Problems only kept coming when they were told there was only three rooms available.  
Haymitch wasn't sure what the problem was. after all, there wasn't much travelling around the districts. Most of the local inns or hotels were there for image only, almost always deserted...

Perhaps they didn't _have_ more than three rooms ready, Haymitch wasn't sure but it certainly made his life harder.

"Well that just won't do!" Effie complained. "I will not have my tributes share a room, it is improper!"

  
"Then we will," he sighed, taking the keys from the man at the desk with an apologetic look. "Just _shut up_, Effie." The use of her name did it. Clearly mortified, Effie quietened down with a _huff_ and settled on _looking_ annoyed instead. "Good girl," he mocked, pretending to pat her head.

Her responding glare was worth it.

"You can have the couch," Effie pointed to the dusty looking furniture with a wrinkled nose.

  
"I'm having the bed," he insisted. "If you want it too, you can stop being a prude and just _share. _I know that's a foreign concept to you."

  
"You will not!" She said, putting her hands on her hips and straightening up. He knew this act, she was trying to intimidate him... "It is gentlemanly to offer to take the couch or the floor, I will not share a bed with you. It is improper."

  
"Oh, stop acting like a blushing virgin, we both know you're _not_," Haymitch snapped. He had lost all patience with her. All he wanted to do was open the mini bar and go to bed.

But Effie didn't miss the thinly veiled reference to what had happened between them the year earlier. When he had shoved her against a wall and she'd opened his pants...

"I thought we agreed to never mention that again," she pouted like a child, clearly upset about having been reminded.

  
"I won't," he agreed. "If you just get into bed and stop complaining." She stayed still, standing in the middle of the hotel room... "Suit yourself," he shrugged, grabbing a bottle and making himself comfortable on one side of the bed.

She lasted about ten minutes before she stomped her foot and finally got in the other side. All the while, muttering about how tired she was and how much work she'd have to do tomorrow.

Haymitch smirked at her antics, especially when she'd looked positively murderous after he'd suggested she take off the wig and make up.

  
_She was ridiculous._

**Author's Note:**

> I had a hard time picking, I am a sucker for a cliché story. The fact that I have about five written did make me debate publishing one of them, but then I couldn’t resist writing more :P  
That was a thinly veiled warning, if you want me to post my hoard you should be prepared for very cheesy plots because I love them unapologetically lmao.  
I know they’re not the best but I cannot condense things for the life of me so I thought I’d just do a little snapshot into the stories instead.   
Also I hope there’s not too many mistakes because I haven’t properly checked through this and I’m very tired xD


End file.
